Infinity Group Medical Director Dr Krish Rawal, delves into how January blues can be beaten by exercise.

After the festive season and the holidays finish, it is not uncommon for some people to find January/February to be a very difficult month. The weather is cold and darker, and there is a return to normal routine; for some this can result in a lowering of their mood and a general struggle with daily life, albeit temporarily.

Recent research has increasingly shown that exercise can rival, and in some contexts surpass, the benefits of antidepressant medications in reducing depressive symptoms. A major review published this year has found that moderate physical activity produced similar reductions in depression compared with antidepressant drugs across dozens of randomized trials, making it a viable treatment option for many people and for patients with a formal diagnosis of depression. According to The Times, scientists involved in this review reported that exercise achieves results comparable to traditional therapies and medications for depression, emphasising its accessibility, low cost, and additional physical health benefits. 

Earlier large-scale evidence also supports this position. A comprehensive meta-analysis of more than 1,000 trials and over 128,000 participants, concluded that physical activity was approximately 1.5 times more effective at reducing symptoms of mild to moderate depression or anxiety than leading medications or counselling approaches. This in fact suggests that exercise may not just match but exceed antidepressant effects in some settings.  Additionally, clinical meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals have found that exercise often performs as well as antidepressants in alleviating depressive symptoms, particularly when intensity and consistency of activity are taken into account. 

There are biological and psychosocial mechanisms that can explain these effects. Physical activity stimulates the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine and increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), all of which are implicated in mood regulation and often targeted by pharmacologic antidepressants. In addition, exercise enhances sleep quality, self-esteem, and social engagement - factors that independently contribute to improved mental health outcomes. Taken together, this body of evidence supports the claim that regular exercise can be as effective or even more effective than antidepressants in many cases of depression, although individual outcomes vary and optimal treatment often involves a personalised combination of lifestyle, psychological, and, where appropriate, pharmacological strategies.

So keep training, keep pushing forward; longer sunny days are coming.